Cataract

Cataract - cataract, which leads to a reduction of, and in some cases to complete its loss. This disease is the most common cause of blindness, which is treated with medication, and advanced forms of cataract surgery is performed.

Causes eye cataracts are the biological aging, exposure to radiation or certain diseases (diabetes mellitus). The development of lens opacity leads to the appearance or strengthening of myopia, in which the improving near vision and distance vision worsens.

Cataracts may be partial or complete, stationary or progressive, hard or soft. The main types of age-related cataracts were nuclear sclerosis, cortical cataract and posterior subcapsular cataracts.

The first cataract surgery was carried out another 2 centuries ago, a surgeon Jacques Devielem.

Symptoms of cataract

Symptoms of cataracts are different and depend on the type of cataract. The most common symptoms of a cataract are:

Loss of the ability to distinguish colors;

The sharp decline in vision;

The highlights in the eyes;

Loss of ability to read or write without glasses;

Staining pupil white (at swellable cataract);

Raising or lowering the sensitivity.

Causes Cataract

The most common cause of cataracts is age. Denaturation of lens proteins degrade over time, and this process is accelerated by diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Over time, environmental factors, including light, toxins and radiation tend to accumulate. These factors exacerbate the loss of protective and repair mechanisms due to changes in the expression of genes and chemical processes in the eyes.

Ultraviolet radiation and microwaves can also cause cataracts. Acceptance of such drugs as corticosteroids, antipsychotics quetiapine and is the reason for the emergence and development of eye cataracts.

Smoking cigarettes leads to a doubling of the rate of nuclear sclerotic cataracts and a threefold increase in posterior subcapsular cataract.

The causes of cataracts can be a variety of diseases, which include:

Iodine deficiency;

Metabolic diseases;

Aminoaciduria or Lowe syndrome;

Diabetes;

Fabry disease;

Galactosemia;

Homocystinuria;

Hyperparathyroidism;

Hypoparathyroidism;

Hypervitaminosis D;

Hypothyroidism;

Wilson's disease;

Congenital syphilis;

Rubella;

Leprosy;

Onchocerciasis;

Toxoplasmosis;

Chickenpox;

Aniridia;

Uveitis;

Retinitis pigmentosa.

Cataract Treatment

Operation begins with anesthesia cataract eye which is performed by simple injection or eye drops.

Cataract surgery can be performed by the following methods:

Extracapsular cataract extraction;

Laser phacoemulsification;

Intracapsular cataract extraction;

Ultrasonic phacoemulsification.

Post-operative recovery period (the period following cataract surgery), as a rule, does not last long. After the surgery is recommended to avoid sudden movements and stresses in a month.

Serious complications after cataract removal are retinal detachment and endophthalmitis eyes. In both cases there is a sudden decrease in vision, accompanied by pain. Retinal detachment often performs unilateral visual field defects, a veil before the eyes, flashes of light or floating spots.

Patient cataract possible early in the disease and is carried by such medicaments as: